Cook, dry and takeaway

When the Birla family set out on a holiday to Spain, they were accompanied by 150 kg of home-cooked food. Making this possible was Lalit Meisheri's self-innovated process of dehydrating food at room temperature. He recalls how Kumar Mangalam Birla's mother had ordered some of his Indian Harvest brand of dehydrated foodstuff from Mumbai eatery Swati Snacks for a dinner party hosted by her. Meisheri was invited too and the guests, who were asked to rate the food, gave it top marks, prompting the family to place the huge order for their trip.

An IIT alumnus, Meisheri stumbled upon the customised service one-and-a-half years ago while trying to help a friend. “Her daughter studying in the US never found enough time to cook, and her health went for a toss,” he says. The chemical engineer soon devised a way to dehydrate food at room temperature, which, he says, retains micronutrients as well as the authentic flavour and aroma. And his first ready-to-eat pack took shape.

Meisheri's Indian Harvest brand soon found big demand among students, holidaying families and businessmen on the move. Vegetarians predominate among his 3,000-odd clientele, including many from the Jain community who avoid food from outside for religious reasons. Some restaurant chains also rely on Meisheri's services to ensure uniform taste across their outlets.

Easy, light and fresh

And, of course, many a parent in Mumbai turns to him when it comes to sending ghar ka khana to loved ones abroad. Pratiksha Bhide sends her daughter, a student in Boston, pulav , dal makhani , gajar ka halwa and even her favourite pav bhaji in these ready-to-eat packs every three months. She simply has to immerse the packs in boiling water to savour the inimitable taste of mom's kitchen.

Khichdi , parathas , rajma , paneer bhurji , poha , idli , sambhar and even dosa batter have found their way into Meisheri's dehydration lab. An additional advantage is these packs are easy to carry as dehydration reduces the weight drastically — 10 kg of rajma , for instance, would be reduced to around 3 kg.

Customers can request for portion sizes according to their needs. The charges are Rs 2,000 for seven kg and four kinds of food, and Rs 2,500 for eight kg and eight varieties.

And the food lasts more than a year despite the absence of preservatives and additives commonly found in other ready-to-serve meals available in the market.

“The technique is energy-efficient, cost-effective, and reduces weight by 70 per cent. Even drying in the sun destroys certain essential chemicals,” says Meisheri.

The world of fruits and vegetables, their colour, flavour and aroma have held a fascination for him since his student days at IIT Bombay. After working for a few years with corporates such as Wipro and Grasim, his interest turned to R&D and he set up his company, Tech Know Consultants, in 1981.

“It's not enough that we come out with novel technology. We should also be able to ensure that it's commercially viable,” he says.

Nutrition supplement: Meisheri points out that dehydrated food has wide implications in the health sector. “When you dehydrate food, the quantity reduces and you have all the nutrients in condensed form. This will come in handy for those who can have only liquid food or those forced to limit intake,” he adds.

In fact, he has prepared nutrition supplement packs for a maternal nutrition project conducted in Mumbai in collaboration with doctors from Southampton General Hospital, UK, who acknowledged his technique as “a major innovation in the field of food technology”. The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), a non-profit group promoting entrepreneurship globally, also recognised his efforts.

Agri uses: The right preservation technique holds the key to solving many a problem in the agriculture sector too, says Meisheri. “It can help prevent spoilage, and cut transportation cost. Also, farmers often do not get the right price for their produce because of glut in the market. Right preservation can help in controlling supply,” he says.

His innovations include a technology to dehull sesame seeds that he sold to ITC in 1994. He now wants to partner with NGOs to set up a dehydration plant for drumstick leaves at Dahanu in Maharashtra. And, of course, increase the gamut of products that go into his ready-to-eat packs… Calcutta paan is the latest addition to a delectable list that includes shredded apples, dried tomatoes, strawberry slices and jamun chips.

There have been business queries from Kolkata and Hyderabad. A tea planter in Ooty wants his help to package Chettinad food. Meisheri is ready to share the technology, but prefers to process only vegetarian food. With steady demand round the year, sales of his products however peak around the time courses start in the US and UK, when parents travel abroad for graduation ceremonies and during vacations.

(In response to readers' queries, we are publishing the contact details of Lalit Meisheri. Phone: (office) 022-25008842; (mobile) 09869201049; Email: techknowlogy@usa.net )